Decisions Made
by Splash13
Summary: Morgana's powers are getting the better of her and with more hangings happening than ever, she has to do something. There is only one who can help her, the warlock Emrys. Merlin/Morgana. Rated 4 violence & possible later smutt. Post 02x03.
1. Chapter 1: Decisions Made

Morgana couldn't take it anymore; she had been living with the knowledge of her magic for several weeks now whilst practising it in secret in her chambers and her curiosity was driving her crazy.

She had already managed to burn several more holes in her new curtains (her aim hadn't been to good the first few time). She was gradually getting the hang of fire but she yearned to learn more. Unfortunately that was very difficult. All the books of magic had been removed from the royal library and burned during the great purge whilst any sorcerers that sill remained in Camelot were either captured or lying low, and she doubted they would want to teach the king's own ward magic under his very nose.

Morgana sighed as she looked out of her window at the execution platform where a young Druid girl of about her age was being lead to the platform. She seethed internally at the injustice of it, so many innocent, good people were dying just because of one man's fear.

She felt a slight twinge of grief at this thinking of Aglain, the kindly yet stern druid man who had helped her, if only for a brief period, so much. She would have gone to the druids again in search of a teacher but she feared that she would have placed them in even more danger if Uther realised that she was visiting their camp continuously. She needed a teacher who was separate from the druids yet willing to help her, as many sorcerers were in hiding this seemed unlikely.

Then suddenly it came to her, Emrys.

She had heard great stories of him during her time at the camp. If anyone could help her it was Emrys, but how would she find him?

The druids were the only ones who might know but it was incredibly dangerous to attempt to leave the castle at night with all the armed patrols. Morgana watched as the noose was tightened around the young druid woman and she dropped, her body twitching as her neck snapped before hanging limp.

She had made her decision. She would find the druids that night and damn the risks, she couldn't continue doing nothing. She would seek out Emrys and somehowstop more innocents dying at Uther's hand, she had to.

Merlin walked, or rather trudged his way through the square, arms full of armour, as yet another sorcerer or possibly innocent was hung.

Merlin had no doubt that she was innocent of any wrong doing, it was in her eyes; they searched the crowd in such a confused scared manner. Merlin had to look away. He could not stand watching as another person that he could not save died.

This had to stop! Many of those people hung had most likely only been in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffered because of it. Merlin shuddered at the sound of yet another body hitting the others which were piled onto the wagon beside the podium.

It couldn't go on like this, he had to do something and if that meant revealing his magic then so be it. This was very quickly turning into genocide. Feeling his despair and anger weighing him down with every step he continued on his way.


	2. Chapter 2: A Lady Saved

Night had just fallen as a green cloaked shadow made its way across the courtyard. Surprisingly Morgana had found it relatively easy to bypass the castle security; being a lady of the court did have its merits. She carefully made her way through the dark, deserted streets her heart pounding, senses on high alert, ears prickling for any sound.

She was about to round a corner in a small alley when a rough hand grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. "Well, well, well, what have we hear then" the man sneered.

Merlin stomped into his room, dropping his cloak onto the floor as he went.

He was just about to drop onto his bed when Gaius's voice sounded from the adjoining room "Merlin before you get too settled down, can you go out to the forest to get some Mandrake for me. Sir Gilligan been getting horrible pain from his sprained ankle. I 'd have asked earlier but you've been doing jobs for Arthur all day so I didn't want to hassle you". Grumbling about inconsiderate physicians, Merlin picked up his cloak and pulling the hood back over his head, proceeded out the door dragging his feet as he went. He was overworked damn it! One of these days he would keel over with a pile of armour in one hand and a piece of some disgusting herb in the other. Knowing Arthur the moment he woke up he would be labelled a girl and given a huge list of all the chores he missed.

He had almost reached the bridge when he heard voices, a man's and a woman's.

The woman's seemed to be gradually betting more alarmed and desperate. Hurrying to locate the voices he ran up the street and stuck his head around the corner of an alley. He could see a woman in a green cloak pinned against the wall as a man with a black, straggely beard leaned towards her, a leer on his face.

"Come on sweetheart, give us a kiss" he hissed at her.

"Get off me" she counteracted dangerously as her eyes glowed gold and she brought her hand, now brimming with flames to hit him in the face, in the process her hood fell down, revealing her face. Merlin gasped, realising with a start that it was the Lay Morgana.

Unfortunately Morgana's hand never reached its destination. The man quickly grabbed her wrist and simultaneously the flames went out as if doused by water. "I don't think so darlin" he growled a gloating smile on his face.

Merlin realised that he had to do something, he would not let that creep get his slimy hands anywhere near Morgana. Pulling his hood tighter around his face he stepped into the alley.

The moment that the man had grabbed her wrist and doused her flames, she knew she was in trouble, he was clearly a sorcerer.

Well just because he was a sorcerer did not mean he could fight physically she thought with hope. With this thought she tried to knee him in the gut but he somehow block her there too. Okay it seemed she had underestimated him, he could fight too. Now she was really in trouble

"I don't think so darlin" he oiled at her. As he leaned towards her she glared back at him in disgust but did not flinch away. If this was to be her fate then she would face it courageously. She would not act like some weak little woman no matter how scared she was.

However she did not have to for at that very moment a voice sounded from the end of the alley; "I would step away from the Lady if I were you". Morgana looked up an ounce of hope burning in her heart. A cloaked figure stood at the end of the alley, his face was obscured by darkness except for a pair of gold-blue eyes that seemed to shine with their own internal light.

"And who's gonna make me?" the vile sorcerer sneered as he sent a get of fire, much like Morgana's small flame towards the hooded figure. She was about to yell out a warning when the figure simply stepped aside. The figures eyes then changed from a blue flecked with gold to the sparkling gold glow that was so familiar to her briefly before the would-be rapist was thrown beck several meters onto the ground where he did not move.

The hooded stranger then turned to Morgana. "Are you okay my Lady? He didn't hurt you did he?" Slightly stunned Morgana merely shook her head. He seemed relieved by this. He walked up to her and gently place a hand on her shoulder "Come my Lady, we should get out of here before someone comes to check what the source of all the noise was." Looking up at him she considered her options, be left in the street to be possible accosted again or go with this man that she didn't know but who she felt a strange feeling of trust towards. Nodding her head in assent she went with him.

This was a good choice as as he carefully lead her down the adjoining corner street two guards rounded the other corner and entered the alley that they'd just left. Unfortunately not only did those two guards appear, so too did another pair of guards come to check the street that they were hiding in.

The man and Morgana simultaneously shrunk back into the shadows temporarily obscuring themselves; unfortunately the guards were walking in their direction searching the darkened corners with torches and would soon reach their hiding place. She felt a breath of warm air on her neck as the stranger leant in closer to her trying to obscure himself better, she shivered. There was something about him standing here pressed up against the wall together she felt drawn to him, somehow she trusted him. She was broken from her musings as he whispered in her ear. "We need to get you to the castle immediately," he whispered and then added in a playful tone "and get me back to bed too Gai- er, my friend will be wondering where I've got to. Now I need you to grab my hand and close your eyes, you'll feel like you are being doused with a bucket of icy water but please don't open your eyes. Can you do that?"

Morgana nodded whilst simultaneously grabbing his large, warm hand. Immediately Morgana felt a soaring sensation accompanied by the feeling that he had described to her, it made her shiver, or was that the feeling of his hand? Suddenly it stopped.

"We're here my lady. You can open your eyes," a warm voice whispered in her ear. She opened her eyes and to her surprise found herself facing her own chamber door. She turned surprised eyes to the strange man.

"You didn't expect me to leave you outside the castle to find your own way around the guards?"

"No I suppose not," she replied gratefully "and thank you."

"You're welcome." He counteracted also smiling.

Staring up at his darkened face, trying to make out his features she asked absentmindedly "Who are you?"

"Er….Emrys at your service my lady," he answered ducking his head, in doing so he seemed to notice that they're hands were still linked.

Quickly dropping her hand he stepped back, scratching the back of his ear in embarrassment. "Um, I… I guess I should be leaving then, before the next shift of guards comes around I mean," he stated awkwardly, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Morgana cried "Teach me". He turned back to her surprised; a look of wonder on his face however it quickly changed as his brow furrowed as if waging some internal battle.

"Please," she added almost desperately "I've heard of your abilities and I know that you're the only one who can help me. I do not understand my magic and have even less idea how to control it," she then added with a very unladylike snort of black humour "I even nearly burnt down my own bed by accident for gods sake."

She looked at him pleadingly for a few moments silently begging him to help her, not to leave her alone.. Wait what? Where did that come from? Concentrating back on him she suddenly noticed that something was different he looked more relaxed, lighter as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His posture was more open and inviting his shoulders had become straighter and his eyes, though his face was still obscured by the cloak seemed brighter. Then he spoke "of course I will teach you" he said smiling warmly at her "We'll meet at the forest next Saturday at this time then?"

"Tomorrow then," She replied before slowly turning towards her chamber door, slipping inside she added "Sleep well". He replied with a sad smile "Same to you my Lady, same to you". And then he was gone. Morgana gently shut the door, a smile on her lips and hope in her heart.

Merlin practically skipped down the corridor.

He finally had a clear way of helping Morgana directly without having to reveal himself, not that he'd have minded if Morgana knew but she already had enough to deal with. This was his burden to bear. He feared the dragon's reaction to his decision but he couldn't do this useless helping but not helping thing anymore, it was doing more harm than good and he wasn't going to leave her to deal with her newfound powers alone. "_I know how difficult that is"_ he though sadly.

With a look of intense determination on his face and that thought set in mind he pushed Gaius's door open. "There you are, finally" Gaius exclaimed "I've been waiting for nearly an hour for you to return" Had it really been an hour? Merlin thought in wonderment, it hadn't felt like that long at all. "Put the Mandrake on the table for me again."

Oops, he knew that he'd forgotten something. It must have shown on his face because Gaius took one look at him and stated with frustration "You didn't get it did you?"

"Ah, no but I had a good reason. There was this creepy man in this dark alle…" he would have continued but Gaius cut him off. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Just go back to the forest and get some then. Out you go." Gaius added a bit too cheerfully for Merlin's liking as he shooed him out the door.

Groaning Merlin pulled his cloak back around him and headed out the door. It looked like he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. However as he stepped back out into the cold night be was comforted slightly by the fact that this time next week he would be in the forest with Morgana.


	3. Chapter 3: A Fire Blazed

Hey Guys, sorry to disappoint you with all the chapter editing. I've edited my previous chapters after some very useful reviews. Special thanks Marcus S. Lucas who's review was especially useful. Thank you all who reviewed as well, it makes me smile . Please go back and read if you wish, they've altered slightly as I've tried to inject more emotion and chemistry between Merlin and Morgana. Anyway, onto the story!

Not to disappoint you I've now posted the next chapter, so enjoy!

By the way sorry for the lack of updating, school work is a b.... (I think you can guess the rest).

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A week passed and as night fell Morgana made her way carefully through the town and to the forest her excitement mounting the as she went. This was to be the highlight of her day, no scratch that, her week. She had become bored with her role as a lady of the court a long time ago. Sketching a vase of flowers whilst the nights trained beneath her window was not her thing, no matter how entertaining it was to give one a sultry smile to make them lose concentration enough to drop their sword on their foot like an amateur. None the less she was excited though a small part of her was filled with self-doubt. What if she was a bad student? What if she couldn't pick any of it up?

Just as she reached the edge of the forest, her steps faltered. She had just realised that they hadn't agreed on an exact meeting place. "Great, just fantastic." she thought. What was she going to do now? Wait on the edge of the forest all night. However just as she was contemplating turning back an orb of glowing blue and white light floated towards her from between the trees. She began to back up slightly as it floated up just in front of her face. She didn't know what to make of it. Was it dangerous? But as she studied it it began to float towards the forest. Instinctively she felt compelled to follow it. She knew somehow that Emrys had sent it.

* * *

Merlin cursed his own stupidity yet again. He forgotten to tell her a place to meet, maybe Arthur was right, he really was an idiot. Seating himself by the ring of rocks he'd created in the middle of the clearing he tried to come up with something to fix his blunder. After a couple of very long, very frustrating minutes it suddenly came to him. He could use his orb spell! It had worked well enough for Arthur and though he was a little fuzzy on the details (being unconscious and all) he could vaguely remember how to do it. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the details of the spell, a stream of Latin words spilling from his lips, and when his eyes opened they were glowing a shimmering gold and an orb of blue-white light was already floating towards the trees on the other side of the clearing. Quite pleased with himself he settled down to wait but all too soon he found himself up and pacing anxiously again. He anxiousness quickly turned into relief and back into nervousness as Morgana entered the clearing.

* * *

Morgana gazed in wonder at the scene laid out before her, Emrys had found the perfect spot. She was standing in a small clearing, only a few metres in diameter with trees and low-lying shrubbery on all sides

_"__which makes it difficult for anyone to sneak into the area undetected" _her tactical mind said.

It was also covered by a thick canopy of oak trees making it almost impossible to see down into it from the mountains surrounding the forest. However what drew her eye the most was not these features but the man walking to greet her. He looked fantastic with his messy black hair and white skin which almost blended in to the white tunic and green breaches that he was wearing. Not that Morgana was looking there on purpose or anything. Dragging her eyes back up to his face she noticed that he too was gazing at her with appraising eyes however when he noticed her gaze he blushed and quickly turned his masked face away. "So... umm...My Lady I was wondering if you would like to start with fire as you seem to already have an aptitude for it." He said drawing her attention to the stone ring filled with kindling in the middle of the clearing. He gestured for her to sit down opposite to him on the other side of the fire. Nervously taking her position opposite the fire Morgana awaited his instruction eagerly. " Now let's being.."

* * *

Merlin was trying his best to act differently to his normal self but was finding it extremely hard. He'd never been good at lying though he would never admit that to anyone, least of all Arthur. However with Morgana looking more gorgeous than ever studying him of all people, him! with appraising eyes it was really no wonder he was slightly distracted. Willing himself to relax he watched Morgana take her spot opposite him on the other side of the fire. Putting on his best teacher voice , or rather attempting to channel Gaius, he spoke. "Now let's begin.. It seems you have a natural aptitude for fire so we'll begin by seeing what you can do. I'm going to ask you to start the fire in the makeshift hearth here, once you have it blazing I want you to put it out again, just concentrate on the flames and imagine them calming. Okay?" Morgana nodded her head slowly but with determination a turned to look into the hearth.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Morgana turned all her attention to the hearth. She was a little worried about this but she'd give it a go. She'd lit a fire before but had never tried putting it out but she was damn well going to give it a try. Focussing all her concentration on the kindling she felt the now somewhat familiar tingle of magic running through her before, to her delight, a flame began to burn in the middle quickly growing to encompass the entire pile of wood. She looked up at Emrys quickly and saw to her pleasure a wonderful smile spreading across his face. However that is when it all went wrong.

* * *

Merlin was absolutely delighted with Morgana's abilities. It was obvious she was already quite good with fire and soon he'd be able to move her on to other things. Grinning at her broadly across the flames he watched in fascination as the fire-light danced across her beautiful face casting shadows across it making it even more hauntingly beautiful. She looked up at him and suddenly their gazes connected a feeling of warmth spreading through his entire body. Softly, almost sadly he asked her to put out the fire. However there was a problem, as soon as Morgana's eyes flashed gold to calm the flames they began to rise higher. Looking up at her frightened face he tried to remain calm and hide his own fear as he urged her to give it one more try, desperation and terror in her eyes she attempted it again only to have them rise higher and higher in a sudden burst of flames that shot towards the canopy. Fear and Adrenalin kicking in Merlin reacted on pure instinct. He stood up, his hand coming up in front of him, his eyes glowing gold as he brought the flames down until they were only a minimum before snuffing out completely leaving only a trail of smoke remaining in their wake. Quickly looking down at Morgana to check on her he was met by a site that broke his heart. Still sitting in front of the fire was a soot blackened Morgana her head was bent and a single tear rand down her usually pale cheek as she stared into the smoking hearth shivering in fear. The usual strong woman he saw was nowhere to be seen instead was left the shell of a scared little girl. Crouching down beside her he gently placed his hand on her shoulder whispering gently, "My Lady". When he got no response he tried again " umm, Morgana?" to his surprise and utter shock, instead of looking up at him and quickly wiping her tears away as she normally would have done she suddenly burst into tears and flung her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Awkwardly stroking her hair he pulled her closer a sudden protective urge infusing him. Whispering reassuringly "Come on, let's get you home." he lifted her slightly (with perhaps a little magical help) and transported them both back to her room. She would remember his firm but gentle touch in the morning as he laid her gently on the bed and pulled the covers over her. However what she wouldn't recall was the gentle kiss he left on her forehead as he left her to sleep.

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Don't worry, I will explain Morgana's breakdown later but for now I didn't want to ruin the moment. Thank you all very much for your reviews.. hint, hint...nudge,nudge...wink, wink. :P


	4. Chapter 4: A Question Raised

Wow, thanks everyone for your reviews, favourites and alerts. This story has been waayyy more popular than I thought. Apparently this ship has grown, go team Mergana! Yay!

So I've finally had enough time (and motivation) to write a new section for this. Stupid exams, stupid IB. I swear they're out to get me. N e way. Enough with the whining and on with the show...

Again I say, I do not own anything, except a small piece of Colin Morgan's soul. Oh, no apparently I can't have that either, the BBC own it too. Ah well, maybe I can have Bradley's? No? Okay then, I'll shut up now.

Morgana awoke to the warm sun streaming through the crack in her curtains and the sound of birds floating through the open window. She hadn't slept so well in ages she realised. She'd had the most peculiar dream, she could remember being cradled against someone's chest feelings warmth and safety suffusing through her. She remembered a calming voice and a gentle touch that wiped the tears from her face. She was crying, why had she been crying again? Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. Emrys, the fire, losing control, the feelings of utter helplessness and desperation and loneliness, then he had stopped it. When she had heard his voice, the caring tone, the gentleness which told her just to let it all out, that she didn't need to keep up the mask anymore, she couldn't take it anymore. The pressure was all too much and she let her mask slip and cried all her insecurities and fears out into his shoulder, him stroking her hair in smooth calming movements all the while. Making her feel so safe, so secure and definitely not lonely anymore. She smiled softly to herself.

She was interrupted from her internal musings by the creaking of the door as Gwen entered the room carrying a tray laden with breakfast dishes. "Good morning My Lady" Gwen said coming up to greet her mistress. "Morning Gwen" she replied in a warm tone thanking her friend as she lay the tray down on the table. "What has you in such a good mood this morning then?" Gwen inquired "You're practically glowing". "I just slept well, that's all" she replied smiling softly at Gwen to reassure her. Gwen nodded her head a knowing smile on her lips as she turned away, "Sure". "What?" Morgana inquired genuinely confused and slightly annoyed at Gwen's disbelieving tone. "Well, when I came to check on you last night you were gone and this morning when I went to collect your breakfast tray this was perched on top", she said picking up a piece of paper from the side of the tray for Morgana to see. It read:

Tonight? Same time same place?

Emrys

Smiling she blushed and looked down sheepishly. "I knew it!" Gwen stated triumphantly, "I'd know that love-struck smile anywhere". Morgana's head shot up at this and she quickly fell into defensive mode. "I'm not in love Gwen, I barely even know him". "Whatever you say my lady", she said as she strode towards the door. Just as she dropped her hand onto the handle a soft voice from the bed spoke "You won't tell anyone will you?" "Not as soul", Gwen replied another small knowing smile on her lips.

Merlin had had a terrible night's sleep and what's worse now had the most ear-splitting headache. He had been tossing and turning unable to get the image out of his head of Morgana's terrified face and the warmth of her pressed to his chest. On top of that the bloody dragon had been hounding him all night to come and visit and he was certainly in no mood. However as a particularly powerful call rocked through his consciousness he decided he'd better go see the oversized lizard tonight, before he went to see Morgana. He'd have to see what the hell it wanted before his head split in two.

Morgana was walking around the marketplace with Gwen, enjoying the fresh spring air when she was greeted by the most terrible sight. She was admiring a beautiful silk dress with a lace bodice that she was considering buying for Gwen (like she hadn't noticed the way Arthur and Gwen looked at each other when they thought no one was looking) when she was startled from her shopping by the sound of a man shouting and a child yelping in pain. Looking up she was met by the sight of a line of prisoners tied together being forcibly pulled along by several of the castle guards. However that was not what shocked her the most. Towards the end of the line it appeared that a boy, only about eight or nine years old, had half-fainted and slumped to his knees on the ground and a guard had walked up to him and kicked him hard shouting "Get up now you miserable little brat"! When he did not rise he proceeded to kick him more as the child cried out in pain, writhing on the dirty stone flagstones. She cried out for them to stop and quickly rushed forward to help the child but was blocked by a muscled guard. "No My Lady, these magic using druid scum don't deserve your help", he said muscling past her a sneer on his lips as he dragged the boy to his feet and started the line of prisoners moving again. The huge blue eyes of the small boy stared into hers in fear as he rounded the corner which led to the dungeon entrance. She did not stop staring at the corner he had disappeared behind until Gwen ran up to her a worried expression crossing her features asking "Are you okay My Lady?". "I'm fine Gwen, absolutely fine", she replied, bitterness colouring her tone. She made up her mind there and then, she would not let any more innocent people die, just because she'd made a mistake. She would talk to Uther and he would listen to her or so help her...

It did not take her long to find Uther, he sat in his planning room maps laid out before him muttering to himself. Briefly looking up to see the who it was his expression open up into a weary smile as he saw that it was her. If she had not been so angry at him she would have warmed slightly at such a display of affection and emotion but her anger boiled inside her making her hate her previous father figure with a sharp malice. "Morgana, how good it is to see you", he stated looking up at her. "My Lord" she stated icily. She watched at those two words and her harsh tone sunk in and Uther's face hardened slightly. Taking a deep breath to steady herself she spoke

"My Lord, I wish to talk to you about the prosecution of magic users." "Yes, what of it?" he asked, his flippant tone made her blood boil in her veins making her mouth suddenly loose letting all her anger spill forth. "Have you even bothered to consider how many innocent people have died recently in your quest to rid the kingdom of magic!" She cried, her anger plain. "Innocent people! Anyone who uses magic in this kingdom is certainly not innocent. You of all people should know this Morgana." he replied utter disbelief and rage in his tone. She felt her ire rise even further "So you mean to say that ever single man, woman and child that you have hung or behead deserved what they got! They are normal people, just like us, only that they have magic. Having magic does not automatically make you evil." She saw the colour rise in Uther's face at this and then suddenly he did something he did not expect. She watched as his face softened and understanding washed through it. "I understand what's happening here. They have bewitched you, convinced you that they are not as dangerous as they are", he stated with absolute surety whilst Morgana simply stared at him in disbelief. "I have seen this many times with knights that have been captured by the enemy. They spend so much time with their captors that they are brainwashed by them into thinking that they are just like us. It makes them blind to their evil." Morgana simply stared at him in utter disbelief, she simply could not believe what she was hearing. Was he so utterly mad that he did not even understand the truth when it was presented to him? She was in such a state of shock that she didn't even notice that she was being lead away until she reached her chamber door and the guards left her with a bow.

The sun was fading fast as Merlin made his way down to the Dragon's cave. The bloody monster had kept at him all day even after he had said he was coming. Merlin secretly wondered if it got a kick out of annoying him to death. Finally as he reached the bottom of the stone steps Merlin was greeted by the sight of the enormous golden dragon perched on a rocky outcrop, its wings folded against its glistening scales. "So you finally decided to heed my call?" it asked in an amused tone. Yep it definitely must get a kick out of this Merlin thought. "Yes, now what do you want?" Merlin replied tersely, he was certainly not in the mood for games. "First do you promise to heed my words young warlock" it hissed at him. "No, now speak." Merlin said his anger quickly mounting, he did not owe this beast anything. Its trickery had nearly cost him his mother's life. "Fine but do not blame me when this comes to pass. I have called you to warn you of the witch. However seeing as you did not heed my last warning I doubt that you will heed this one either." "You're correct", Merlin said a fierce protectiveness lacing his tone as he turned his back on the dragon and began to leave. "She will destroy you young warlock. You may care about her, even love her, but does she care about you? She will betray you Merlin. Once she has the power and knowledge she needs she will betray you." the Dragon said, its booming voice echoing in Merlin's ears as he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Until he escaped into the cool night air. Merlin stopped and slowly forced himself to calm down as he stood panting outside the tunnel entrance. Ever so slowly he felt his breath even out as he set his sights on the forest, where he would meet Morgana. He would not listen to the dragon, it could not be trusted and after all, he cared about Morgana, he trusted her and he would not allow her to suffer on her own. With his determination returned he began to make his way through the town and into the forest, fixing his mask in place with a quick adhesive spell as he went.

The lesson that night ran smoothly and before long Merlin and Morgana felt relaxed and happy again, though the issues of the outside world still remained in the back of their minds. Merlin had decided to move on to moving objects (boom boom) rather than controlling fire after the last disastrous attempt. Morgana was enjoying herself and after quickly mastering moving small objects she was having fun finding bigger and bigger objects to move whilst Merlin sat in the corner absentmindedly playing with a stalk of grass. Looking over at Emrys Morgana was suddenly overcome by a flash of inspiration. Walking towards him, a mischievous glint in her eyes she allowed her magic to run through her fingers and her eyes flashed gold and suddenly Merlin found himself hanging upside down by his ankles much to the amusement of an exceedingly proud Morgana. "What was that for?" He said, an indignant expression crossing his face. "I'm sorry", she said, attempting to muffle her laughter "it was just too good an opportunity to miss." "Is that right", he said as a spark entered his eyes and suddenly Morgana too found herself hanging upside down by her ankles, secretly glad that she'd decided to wear pants to practise today. However in the act of being lifted in the air she had lost concentration and stoped her magic allowing Emrys to drop to the floor. Suddenly she too felt herself drop as he too lost concentration. Expecting to hit the hard ground she was pleasantly surprised to find herself on top of a warm and slightly solid body. Looking down she found herself gazing into two sparkling blue eyes that she simply could not tear herself away from. They were so alluring, they seemed to draw her in and all she could do was heed their call. She leant forward her eyes flicking to the soft lips that lay below those wondrous orbs, she was mere centimetres from them. Just as their lips were about to touch an owl shrieked from above, jolting them out of their revere. Jumping back in surprise Morgana awkwardly lifted herself off of Emrys, almost crying out at the loss of warmth that his body gave. Both of them rose to their feet pulling away, looking around embarrassed, trying to avoid each other's eye. "So um, it's late. We should probably be going back", Emrys said awkwardly gesturing in the direction of the castle. Morgana nodded, a confused smile on her lips as they began to make their way back to the castle both jumping at the shot of electricity that ran through their fingers wherever their hands brushed together.

Yeah, I know I'm mean but I promise you more juicy bits later. Had to do a bit of plot development before the ahh...rest. Will be posting the next part on Monday, just to build the suspense. *Muahhahahah!*

Just for interests sake the Dragon's warning is based on the actual fate of Merlin in the myth where Nimueh seduced him so that he would teach her to be powerful and then betrayed him.


	5. Chapter 5: A Lover's Trade

I promised you a juicy bit and here it is. Enjoy. :)

Over the next couple of weeks Emrys and Morgana met every second night at their training field and every time they left with a smile on their face and a feeling of companionship suffusing them. Morgana was feeling very successful in her magic as she had already mastered moving objects and stopping time and was now moving on to conjuring orbs of light. On the other hand she felt completely useless in her campaigning to Uther. Ever since she had confronted him the first time and had somehow convinced him she was brainwashed (she was still a little fuzzy on how the hell that had happened) every time she challenged him on the subject he would give her a pitying look and have a guard lead her away. The only way it seemed to escape the frustration and pent up anger was her lessons with Emrys. He had been a wonderful teacher, first demonstrating what she should do and then letting her try, gently correcting her as she went. She was beginning to look forward to their meetings more and more, however when they came she often found herself distracted and the thing or rather person that distracted her was Emrys. She found herself noticing small things about him, the way the light would fall across his face highlighting his cheekbones and sensuous lips or the way that his eyes would sparkle when he gave her one of his trademark broad grins that seemed so familiar to her and made her heart skip a beat. Unfortunately such was her distraction that she often messed up her spell. This of course would result in him coming over to help her , adjusting her stance or hand positions. This left her even more distracted as every time their hands brushed or his hand touched her arm she had to suppress a shudder at the heat that spread through her which almost made her cry out in loss as he moved away. Sometimes she would make small mistakes on purpose just to feel his hands on her again. Though she occasionally wished that he would remove his mask so that she would see the man beneath. She was sure he would be beautiful.

Merlin was faring no better than Morgana. He had always known that she was a beautiful woman but he never knew just how much, both inside and out. She made him laugh and yet could also take his breath away with a single glance. He was growing to really enjoy her company and the feeling of belonging and caring that came with it. However he could never really forget the dragon's warning, he cared for Morgana (perhaps more than a friend should) and trusted her but the niggling doubt was always there no matter how often he forcibly brushed it aside. Pushing his insecurities to the side Merlin focused on what he was going to show Morgana tonight. She had been progressing particularly well lately and he wanted to give her a real treat, a reward for her success. He was going to take her somewhere special and show her a wonderful phenomenon very few mortal eyes had seen. Smiling to himself as he scrubbed Arthur's sweaty, smelly socks (smiling was not a common reaction to Arthur's socks) he continued on with his work. When Arthur returned almost half an hour later it was to a smiling Merlin and several pairs of clean socks. Arthur quickly concluded that his manservant was extremely weird, not that he didn't know that already.

When night fell Morgana quickly made her way to the forest a little later than usual (she had been delayed by some strangely watchful guards), her anticipation building. Emrys had promised her a surprise for all her good work and she was excited to find out what it was (and to spend some time in his company). Quickly entering the clearing she found herself facing a smiling Emrys. "You're late", he commented, a cheeky sparkle in his eyes. "I'm _fashionably_ late", she responded just as cheekily, "gees who comes on time these days?" He laughed at that, mock hurt crossing his face at being called unfashionable. Now it was her turn to laugh. "So what's my surprise then?" she asked intrigued. He sobered at this "I wanted to show you something", he said holding his hand out for her. She quickly took it, revelling in the warmth that spread through her from where their hands were joined. "Lead the way." She whispered half breathlessly. He gently pulled her to the side of the clearing and into the undergrowth. They walked for what seemed like hours to Morgana until they reached the edge of a beautiful lake. The most beautiful lake she had ever seen.

Merlin looked nervously down at Morgana, who was pressed gently against his side, to find her face covered by an awed smile. Suddenly she looked up at him and he found himself caught in a pair of beautiful sparking green eyes, shinning with gratitude and, dare he hope it, love. She spoke drawing his concentration away from her eyes momentarily, "Thank you Emrys", she said absolute wonder and gratitude colouring her voice, "it's beautiful", her face inches from his. In that moment he felt his heart and resolve melt, and crossing that small distance he pressed his lips against hers.

Morgana was in absolute awe of the beautiful lake, the moonlight spread across it making it shimmer like a mirror. Looking up at Emrys she whispered her wonder and thanks, gazing into the azul pools of his eyes. They were mere inches from each other, they were so close that she could feel Emry's warm breath on her face. Suddenly the gap was no longer there and his soft lips were pressed against hers. She gasped into his mouth as warm suffused her entire being and she kissed him back with love. It was a gentle kiss fuelled by undisclosed passion but it still left her gasping. Pulling away from each other, they looked into each other's eyes. "I think I'm falling in love with you Morgana", he said a wondrous smile gracing his lips. She smiled right back replying "About time too", making him laugh. "But just for the record", she continued gently lifting her hand to cup his cheek," I think I falling for you too". He closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly savouring the contact but then pulled back. "This isn't the only thing I wanted to show you" he said gently pulling her down to sit on the bank with him, gesturing towards the lake, "watch". Raising her eyes towards the lake she was startled to see that a soft light had begun to glow in the centre. Looking on in fascination she watched as small glowing spots began to appear in the air above the glowing centre. Slowly, before her eyes they began to form into shapes, into small people. Looking over at Emrys in awe she was surprised to find him looking at her. "What is this place?" she asked in wonder. "The entrance to Avalon", Emrys supplied, "Very few mortals have seen it. We're two of the lucky ones". Looking back over at the lake she noticed that more small people had begun to float in the air surrounding the glowing light which she could now see was actually a reflection of a shimmering city. An urethral music began to sound, seemingly coming from the reflection itself and as she watched the small people began to dance across the surface of the water. Looking back at Emrys she found that he was now standing a hand held out to her, "May I have this dance"? Morgana nodded, not quite trusting her mouth. Gently pulling her to her feet he wrapped his hand around her waist and brought her hand to sit on his shoulder and began to slowly sway from side to side. She was so lost in the dance that she didn't notice that they had begun to be lifted into the air, floating a few inches above the ground as the couple was pulled towards the centre of the lake. Looking down Morgana noted in surprise that they were floating inches from the glimmering water. Looking behind her she noted too that they were quite far from the shore, however she felt not fear. In Emrys's arms she felt safe.

Merlin gazed in wonder at the beautiful woman dancing with him, looking down he suddenly realised that they were floating just above the water. How had that happened? he wondered, he wasn't doing anything. Suddenly he hear a familiar voice whisper in his ear "You gave me my happiness and peace Merlin, now it's time I gave you yours". "Thank you Freya" he whispered under his breath overwhelmed with gratitude at being able to share such an extraordinary moment with the woman he loved. Wait where had that come from? He didn't quite love her yet did he? Considering this he realised that yes, he did. This thought clear in his mind he turned his focus back to Morgana to find an amazing amount of affection shining in her eyes. He felt honoured to be the focus of such caring especially of Morgana, the woman who constantly kept her mask up. Never letting the world in. But she had let him in and he felt privileged. Pulling her flush against him he leant forward and pressed his lips to hers again.

Morgana fell into the kiss pouring her pent up passion and dare she call it love into it. This kiss was far more passionate than the last one and she groaned into Emrys's mouth as his tongue swept her bottom lip, begging entrance. She quickly obliged opening her mouth and bringing her own tongue into play. The passion built to scorching levels as they desperately held onto each other. Suddenly the moment was broken as rain began to fall lightly, lightly at first and the built into all out pouring.

Merlin tried to ignore the rain hitting his back as he kissed Morgana passionately but there soon came a point where he couldn't ignore it anymore. Quickly pulling her against him in mentally asked Freya to carry them back to the bank. Once they hit the bank he ripped his jacket off holding it above both their heads as they ran for cover under the hollowed out root system of an ancient oak tree. Gently laying his jacket onto the ground once they were out of the rain he bid her to sit as he did so too, facing her. Lifting his hand to cup the side of her face he slid forward bringing her lips to his again. The passion returned full force as he pulled her fully against him bringing her to rest across his knees, her heat burning against his thigh.

The moment he kissed her again her passion returned full force. She felt liquid heat pool in her nether-regions as he pulled her to him. Her knees falling either side of his thighs. Deciding she had let him take the lead long enough she gently brought her hands to his chest and pushed allowing him to become off balance enough to fall onto his back, she straddled his hips ad lent down to devour his sensuous lips again. Groaning as she felt his hard on press against her sopping core. He was no means laying still throughout all this. His hands began to wonder from her cheek down her neck, across her shoulders and down her arms and then back up again. Slowly running his hands down his sides he worked them under her shirt to caress her breasts. Returning his hands the hem of the shirt he began to lift it off of her. She broke the kiss and leant back allowing him to pull it off of her baring her soft white skin to him. His eyes darkened with desire as each new piece of skin was exposed to him. She was beautiful, almost elfin in her beauty and he wanted to worship all of her, the elegant goddess that she was. He flipped them over suddenly, he had to touch her, to worship her. Bringing his lips to hers again he gave her a brief kiss before making a trail of kisses across her cheek and down her neck, her chest and across to lave attention on her left breast. Morgana sighed as his tongue flicked her chest and strained up towards his questioning mouth. Suddenly he gave her a quick nip that sent her arching against him a strangled cry spilling from her lips. Hearing such a cry from her mouth Merlin felt his desire spiking and from then on he decided it would be his aim to make her cry out like that again. He quickly moved his attention to the other breast as she grasped him to her like he was her life force. Slowly he moved his attention from her breasts and began to trail nips and licks down her chest, and stomach and down to the pants she always wore when they trained together. The nips to her stomach and lower body were driving her wild but she needed to feel his skin against hers. she grabbed him pulling him up her body to her mouth, giving him an impassioned kiss before grasping the hem of his shirt and practically ripping it over his head. She took a moment to admire the ivory beauty of his chest before she flipped them again so that she could get a better angle as she ran her hands down his chest and torso before coming to rest over the bulge in his pants. She stroked her hand over the bulge before giving it a gentle squeeze which sent a choked sound spilling from Emrys's lips. Smirking at the control she had over him she lifted her hands to hook under the waistband of his pants, hooking under it before teasingly easing them down and off. His solid member sprang to attention as it was released from the confines of his pants. Morgana smirked further at this, "someone's eager" she whispered as she beheld him in all his glory. He blushed at this, he was beautiful really, like some sort of magical animal which she supposed he was. Knowing immediately what she wanted to do, she teasingly ran her hands up the inside of his thighs skirting the area that desperately wanted her attention. "Please Morgana", he begged. "Please what?" she said coyly. "For god's sake Morgana, touch me!" he said in desperation. Finally getting what she wanted she ran her hands inside his thighs to wrap around the base of his length. She slowly worked her hand up the length of him provoking moans from him. Looking at him lying before her all for the taking she decided she couldn't resist and more and leant forward to lick the tip of him causing his hips to buck up. Gently pushing them back down again she worked her mouth further down him. Unable to take all of him in her mouth she settled for working the first half with her mouth while gently stroking the base with her right hand. Soon he was rutting against her mouth groaning her name in ecstasy. "God Morgana... I'm gonna... ". Dipping her left hand she gently fondled his balls rolling them in her palm. That was enough as he cried out in ecstasy spilling down her throat as she swallowed his milk. Looking down at the amazing woman before him who had done such a wonderful act for him he was consumed by love and swore he would make her feel just as wonderful. Pulling her up and crushing his mouth to her he flipped her a final time before making his way down her body to her swollen lips. He dipped a finger to her running up and down her lips until she was begging for his fingers to enter her, it didn't take long. "Please Emrys" she practically sobbed as she raised her body to attempt to capture his fingers. Finally allowing her what she wanted he slid one finger into her heat and she hissed at the sensations that surged through her. Soon he was adding another finger, scissoring them inside her. "Uhn ..ohhhh .." she groaned as he added a third finger to the midst. Merlin was beyond turned on as he watched his fingers disappear into her sopping heat. She looked so delicious laid out before him that he had to taste her. Leaning forward he flicked his tongue across her clit, making her let out a yelp removing his fingers he replaced them with his tongue and he pumped into her heat and swirled his tongue around her clit. Suddenly his fingers went straight to her clip and Morgana released into his mouth with a shout of surprise at her sudden orgasm. Looking down to him she felt her passion flare and she yanked him up her body kissing fiercely as he brushed against her opening. Pulling back Merlin looked down at the beautiful woman before him attempting to project all his love to her in that look. She slowly raised her hand to his face tracing his sharp cheekbones and then his soft lips taking in the man before her. God, she wished that she could see his face. Lifting her hands to his face she attempted to slide his mask off but he stilled her hand. "Please Morgana, not yet. It's not safe for you to know who I am just yet." she nodded but couldn't help but feel a little hurt but quickly brushed it away, what he said was logical. Why was she thinking about this now anyway when she had such a gorgeous man hovering above her waiting to love her? Filing the thought away she looked up into his loving questioning eyes and nodded her ascent and he slowly slid forward sheathing himself in her. She ached her back at the utter pleasure of having him inside her, he touch places of her that she didn't know she had. Slowly he began to move and her world narrowed down to the slide of him inside of him inside her and the utter love she felt in this moment. Soon however she could think no more as he began to move faster inside her spiralling her pleasure higher and higher. She found herself crying out in ecstasy, small groans escaping her lips.

" God yes... uhn.. so good...uhn" she cried.

Hearing such a litany of words from her throat was turning on even further than he already was.

"So tight, so hot...", he groaned out as her inner muscles squeezed him.

"More, Emrys...faster" ! she cried as she felt herself approaching the edge.

Never one to leave a lady wanting Merlin increased his pace feeling himself nearing the edge too. Suddenly he hit something inside of her that made her feel like yelping and she felt herself career over the edge, crying his name as she did so, "Eeeeemmmmrrryyysssss", clamping her muscles down upon him. Merlin couldn't take it anymore and released with a single cry of "I love you".

In the aftermath of their love Merlin lay on his back as Morgana rested her head on his chest. "Did you mean it?" she asked, Merlin knowing immediately what she was asking. "Yes" he replied quietly. She smiled softly before closing her eyes and allowing herself to succumb to sleep. Merlin meanwhile stayed awake looking down at the woman he loved laying on his chest and felt his heart constrict. He was overwhelmed with a sense of fear, he couldn't lose her. What he had told Morgana when she tried to remove his mask had been the truth. If he was ever captured, he did not want her to in any way able to be implicated in it. He also feared her reaction to seeing him without his mask. He did not think he could stand to see the betrayal in her eyes just yet. With this in mind he let his head rest against the tree root behind his head before falling into a fitful sleep.

Told u it was juicy. :P

Yay, I did it! I think that is possibly the longest scene I've ever written and my first sex scene ever. I'm actually kinda ashamed at how over the top it became. Whatcha think? Review and let me know, preaty please with a cherry on top? Yeah I know it was sudden but that seems to be the way with Merlin love stories when the BBC writes them. Will make this seem a bit more substantial later.


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